A supportive environment makes it easy for employees to take part in your workplace walking program. For example,
- Flexible hours that allow staff to take part in organized walks before, during or after work hours
- Promoting the use of stairs and ensuring stairways are clean, well lit, properly ventilated and safe
- Installing change rooms with lockers to allow staff to change in and out of proper walking attire
- Sponsoring events and walks that employees can take part in
It's important to make sure that your organization's policies and procedures also support your walking program. Some examples are:
- Active transportation policy-in the case of bad weather, this policy could provide emergency cab or transit fare to those who walked to work.
- Financial allowance policy-this policy could reimburse staff members for costs, or a portion of the costs, associated with starting the walking program (i.e. walking poles or walking shoes).
For more information on how to build supportive environments and policies for workplace walking programs, please refer to Active Communities' Active Workplace Workbook-Supportive Environment & Policies.